Similar Eyes
by Nara Barb
Summary: Gaara meets someone who reminds him to himself, and starts having unknown feelings towards her. [GaaraxOC, non yaoi]
1. 1stEmotion: Empathy

Here we go again with another fanfic!

The action is placed 8 years after chuunin exam, so Gaara is 20 years old.

Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. It's a pity, though...

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It was war in Hidden Sand Village. The Hidden Rock Village tried to form an alliance with the Sand to strike the Leaf. When the Kazekage refused this plan and warned the Leaf, the army from Rock struck the Sand. Serious mistake. The Hidden Village of Sand was a fortress in the middle of the dessert. A quarter from Rock's army was unable to fight properly due to the arduous journey and the high temperature. In the other hand, ninjas from the Sand were used to these factors and knew how to take advantage of the situation. However, the war was being bloody and both factions were loosing many lives. In the middle of all the chaos, a young kunoichi was fighting fiercely. She repelled the last of her attackers and panted heavily. Suddenly, she froze and fell on her knees. She was covered in blood and sand, but what made her collapse weren't her multiple bruises. She had just witnessed how a Rock nin had sectioned a Sand nin's throat. And that Sand nin was her father.

-"A ninja never cries, a ninja never cries, a ninja never cries…" she was paralyzed and in her head those words were echoing. At that moment, her mind split into two parts. One of them was remembering her father's smile, his laugh, his face, and the way his eyes shone when he looked at her. The other one was watching as the Rock nin cleaned his kunai from her father's blood, spotted her and with a cruel smile was heading towards her kneeled figure. This part was shouting: "MOVE MOVE MOVE", but she remained still. Dirt wrinkles appeared in her cheeks as she silently cried with her eyes closed, waiting for the final blow to end with her life, but it never came. When she opened her eyes she couldn't see the Rock nin. She saw the sand rising from the floor due to the wind, and saw the surrounding Rock nin's faces twisted in horror.

-It's Gaara of the Dessert! Take the girl as hostage and run!

A Rock nin ran towards her but a wall of sand intercepted him and crushed him. She turned around her head to see what was behind her. And she could never forget it. Walking calmly towards her, she saw a young man with shoulder-length red hair, whose face was so inexpressive that he seemed out of place, but his way to walk, with such security and determination, gave him an enormous authority. He was dressed in black, and his long jacket waved in the wind. The sand that was going out from an enormous gourd in his back remained floating near him and when he reached her, stopped at her side, crossing his arms. He looked at her with his aqua marine eyes, and she read the kanji "love" in his forehead.

-Kazekage-sama! –she exclaimed, bowing her head in respect from her kneeling situation.

-Are you ok? –he asked with monotone and low voice.

-Yes, I am…thank you very much.

-You didn't try to defend yourself –he stated

-I…I was…that…Sand nin… over there is…**_was_**…my father –she managed to say.

-I see…

Suddenly, more Rock nins appeared on the top of several buildings, surrounding them from above.

-Aim for the Kazekage! –One of them commanded. Every Rock nin took his weapon and prepared to jump.

-Stand up and stay close to me –Gaara told her.

She did what he ordered her. It all happened in a matter of seconds. She saw all the Rock nins jump at one time on them and couldn't help but put her head between her hands and come closer to him. Then, everything went black. She opened more her eyes trying to get used to the sudden darkness, and realized they were surrounded by a thick and solid sand sphere. She could guess the Kazekage's silhouette, calm and still cross armed. He touched his closed right eye with his middle and index finger and mumbled:

–Third Eye, release… -He seemed to concentrate –Better close your eyes –he recommended with authoritarian voice. Shortly afterwards he made several hand seals at an amazing speed. She closed strongly her eyes.

-"Dessert Blast!" –he didn't even raise his voice, which produced a soft echo inside the sphere.

When she opened her eyes, they were again outside the sand. She spotted several bodies splattered in the floor, some of them so battered that were almost unrecognizable as human beings. She felt sick and turned around, stepping with something and almost falling. When she realized she had tripped over a single and bloody leg, she grabbed Gaara's arm in a reflex act and pressed her face against it closing her eyes. Gaara looked at her, with no emotion in his face. He made the sand of the dessert bury all the Rock nin's corpses and spoke quietly:

-You can open your eyes now.

Slowly, she moved her face away from his arm. She stepped back and bowed trembling.

-Thank you again, Kazekage-sama, and I apologize for my weakness. With your permission, I'm going to pick my father's corpse.

She didn't wait for him to say nothing, though, and headed where her father fell. Gaara followed her silently and saw how she approached the corpse with insecure steps. Her father was lying face up in a bloody puddle, a silent scream guessed in his mouth and open eyes in horror. When she finally reached him, she started to pant and seized her heart. Gaara's eyes opened slightly when he saw this gesture, and when she finally fainted she held her before she could hit the floor. He took her in his arms and picked her father's corpse with his sand.

Recovering his unemotional expression, he started walking to his residence.

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For the third time, Gaara looked at her. She was still lying unconscious in a bed from the Kazekage's residence, all her bruises were cleaned and bandaged, and he ordered some maids to change her cloths. He took her Sand forehead protector in his hands and observed it. The cloth was red, and in the back of it, written in black ink was readable "fear is only a four-letter word". Gaara raised his non-existent brows. He liked the quote, but the girl didn't seem to have assimilated it. Her behaviour in battle made him think that she wasn't cut to be a ninja, but she was in fact a jounin. He had checked her profile; her name was Watsuki Yonaka, she was twenty years old (but she seemed younger) and her only known relative was her father, Watsuki Ioda. She had had success in all her missions, and that made him wonder what happened today with her. He attributed it to the shock of seeing his father dying in front of her in the middle of a war.

War and missions weren't the same thing, and Gaara knew it. The first war he had fought was in the Hidden Leaf Village, and he was twelve. He had never hesitated during a battle, but he knew he was different. Although he had changed, he knew that the fact of having a legendary demon within him didn't make him trustworthy for the villagers. The only ones who cared for him and trust him were his siblings, Temari and Kankurou. The eldest were still frightened of him, but he had vowed to protect this village, his village, and he was going to do it 'til the last remain of his life. That way, sooner or later, they'll respect him and need him as their Kazekage.

Immerse in his own thoughts, he didn't notice that Yonaka had already awaken and was staring to the ceiling. She moved slowly her head and spotted him. He saw movement and looked at her again, meeting her eyes. Her dark blue eyes narrowed and she frowned deeply.

-It wasn't a nightmare, wasn't it? –she asked quietly.

Gaara shook his head and she closed her eyes again. He thought she was going to cry, but no tear came. They remained in silence until she sighed and opened her eyes, looking again at him. He stared back, but this time he noticed sorrow and emptiness in her sea blue eyes. Her eyes made him remember Yashamaru, his father, the villagers, the solitude and the pain in his heart. She had the same eyes than him.

-What am I going to do? –she asked with broken voice to no one in particular.

Gaara watched as she closed her eyes again sighing. He thought for some moments and decided to do what he would have liked someone to do for him.

-I'll take care of you. –he promised

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Ok, here's the first chapter. I wanted to make a fic about Gaara, but I couldn't picture with anyone known from Naruto-world. That's why I created Watsuki Yonaka (Watsuki from Watsuki Nobuhiro, Rurouni Kenshin's creator, and Yonaka means "Midnight".I simply liked it). Don't worry; she's not a Mary Sue. She's not breathtaking beautiful or a genius, and you have seen that she can collapse in the middle of a battle. This is a rather sad chapter, but I had to make Gaara feel empathy for someone. Yonaka's going to be a cheerful person, but she needs her time to recover (just imagine a couple, both depressed…they'd end committing suicide Oo)

Well, I'm open to your opinions! Be gentle, but correct my grammar, please. English is not my first language and I want to improve it : )


	2. 2ndEmotion: Pity

Hello again! Firstly thanks to everyone, and in this chapter you'll know a little more about Yonaka. :)

And now, on with the story!

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The night fell at last upon the village. The Sand had repelled the attack, but they didn't feel victorious at all. The corpses of all the fallen Sand nin's were wrapped in write shrouds, and the funeral was held at the light of the moon and torches. Everyone dressed in black and gathered in the crematorium plaid, where Gaara, flanked by Kankuro and Temari, presided over the ceremony.

-We're all here to say farewell to those who fought bravely today. They died protecting what they called home, protecting whose they called beloved, protecting their ideals –Gaara stopped his speech briefly to look at their faces. No one was crying. In the Hidden Sand Village, the people hardly showed their feelings in public. They were raised in such a hostile environment as the dessert, where a sign of weakness could lead you to death. –And that's not a shameful dead at all. We'll remember them with pride and we'll hope to meet them once we end our own life. Meanwhile, we have to keep defending what they died for. Our ideals, our people and our village.

Saying this, he took one torch and started burning the corpses. It was tradition, but it was of necessity too. They had sandy soil, and it wasn't the most appropriate to bury a large amount of bodies. Everyone stared to the flames as hypnotized, remembering their comrades and relatives, watching as the rising smoke vanished in the air…

Later that night, and after offering his condolences, Gaara headed to his residence. He walked slowly; he wasn't in a hurry at all. Yonaka was occupying his thoughts. Why did she freeze in the middle of a battle? She was supposed to be a jounin! Gaara knew that loosing someone important was a great shock, but…he still couldn't understand it. He looked at the night sky and saw the full moon…that was going to be a long night…

When he arrived at his place, he went to his favourite spot, the balcony. It was huge and you could see all the Sand Village, the dessert and an oasis in the distance. He spotted a lonely figure cut against the dark sky, it was Yonaka. She was standing on the railing, looking at the emptiness with her hands entwined in her back. She lowered her head, sighed and mumbled a "goodbye". Gaara quickly reacted, and within seconds he gently enveloped her with his sand and put her away from the railing, softly putting her in the balcony's floor beside him. He frowned and crossed his arms, looking at her severely. She had an astonished expression in her face.

-You scared me, Kazekage-sama –the sand left her and she panted heavily.

-What do you think you were doing? –he demanded

-I was saying farewell…

-You were going to jump –he stated

She raised an eyebrow and her eyes reflected her amazement –Are you mental? –she enquired

Now was Gaara's turn to be surprised. It was the first time he was insulted so directly, so he looked intensely at her.

-Excuse me?

-Oh, sorry Kazekage-sama! –she bowed deeply realising her mistake –I didn't mean to insult you.

-But you did.

-Well, you called me suicide –she retorted.

-I didn't.

-You thought it.

If Gaara were a more expressive person he'd have laughed, but he wasn't, so instead of laughing he inclined his head. Yonaka spoke again.

-What I mean to say is…-she paused to measure her words –Please, Kazekage-sama, don't have such a low estimating of me. I wasn't going to commit suicide. I was saying goodbye to my father. From this spot I can see the crematorium plaid, so I watched the whole ceremony.

-I see –he answered –but I couldn't help but notice that your father meant a lot to you. You froze in the middle of a battle, and you waited for your death.

-My father was everything to me. He was the only person who ever cared for me, my only relative and friend. I don't have more family, and though I have some acquaintances they aren't friends to me. I've lost everything, even my meaning of life. I wanted my father to be proud of me as a ninja, but I failed.

A silence fell upon both of them. She approached again to the railing and sat on it. Gaara sat beside her, leaving his gourd on the other side. He seized firmly her wrist. She looked at him again frowning.

-I told you, I'm not going to jump.

-Just in case.

-Committing is the last thing I'd do in my life.

-That's obvious.

Yonaka laughed bitterly at her own stupidity. –You know what I mean. You can go to sleep, is late.

-I don't sleep with full moon. You're the one who should go to sleep.

-I can't sleep, not tonight.

-You need some rest.

-Actually, there's something I'd like to ask you, Kazekage-sama. Give me some time of permission, please. I need to reconsider my job after this war. I don't know if I can stand being a ninja anymore. I had enough blood and pain today. I need a break.

Gaara looked at her frowning face and nodded.

-As you wish, you've six months. You will be in the administrative department during that time; after that period, if you want to work again as an active ninja, you will go back to your missions as a jounin. If you don't, you can remain there as much as you want.

Yanaka lowered her head and thanked him. She turned again to look at the full moon, and they remained silent the rest of the night.

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I'm terribly sorry for the long delay for this chapter, but I just started classes again :'(.

I also think it's too short, but this is better than nothing, isn't it? Anyway, hope you like it and I'll work harder in the next one. See you!


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